Summer fun at the park

We had fun meeting some of Myles' colleagues at one of our fav. parks.  It's huge with playgrounds, trampolines, zip lines, animals, boats, a butterfly house..you name it!

 

 

 

 

We even caught a stork walking around.

German Garden Party

We enjoyed a lovely garden party in our friend's back yard. 

The fresh raspberries she let the girls pick were so pretty and delicious!  They reminded us of our last home where we had our own little patch.

She made a gooseberry custard for us that was fun to try.

She sent us home with the fresh ivy she'd picked for Ivy and had used as a decoration for us.

We had fun doing a little photo shoot with it.

 

 

 

 

 

This is Macy with Ivy right after she woke up in the morning--one of her happiest times.  She definitely already looks up to her!

 

This was a shirt for an 18 month old that I think is pretty cute as a dress!

Gram's Visit

My mom planned it pretty well to have her first year of retirement when 3 new grand babies arrived within 3 months!

I was blessed to have her travel all the way to Germany to spend time with us and help us out.  A lot of these pics. I hadn't even seen yet, so it was fun to go through them.  Ivy already looks so much bigger/different since then!

She did everything from German bowling to window washing.  She had fun visiting each of the girls' schools and going on special dates with them.

We're grateful for all her help and fun memories!

Fun with Gram slideshow

Then and Now

The 4th of July marks our anniversary of moving to Germany.  This is our family in New York the day we flew out 2 years ago.

Here we are the day we took Ivy home from the hospital. 

Quotable Quotes

One of our neighbors:  I could hear some crying from your window.
I'm thinking:  Oh, no, she's going to complain.
Neighbor:  It's so nice to have new life on our street.

Carly about Ivy:  She's not as much work as I thought she'd be.
Me:  Well, all of you girls help out a lot.
Macy:  You did the work for nine months!

Macy while I was making a list of presents people have given us so that I could write thank yous:  You have to put Ivy.  She's probably the best present I've ever had.

Robyn:  How to wash a tie dye shirt for the first time.  Why didn't I think to google that?  You can Google anything!
Macy:  Can you ask it when you'll have your baby?

Macy about Ivy on a cold, rainy day:  She brought the sunshine into our lives.

All Smiles!

Not much compares to having your baby sleep through the night and then greet you like this!

 

 

Carly took this one.  I think it's pretty cute.

We are quite blessed to have such a happy, healthy baby and 3 big sisters to love her!